Making Madhuri Dixit look like a dream in The Fame Game, to creating a whole new lifestyle with her AK-OK line, Anamika Khanna is living up to one challenge after another. The designer engages in a heart-to-heart with Smita Roy Chowdhury
Anamika Khanna
That vision of Madhuri Dixit in that red jacket in the opening scenes of The Fame Game is perhaps what propelled every Madhuri fan to delve deeper into the show. Style, power, stardom, classic yet edgy in its own way, that picture tells you in a nutshell all that the show builds up in its eight episodes. Apart from the alluring image of Madhuri, what strikes us about that picture is the signature Anamika Khanna style, with the promise of more to come. And it lives up to its promise and how! Clearly the most stylish show in the Indian screen space in recent audience memory, The Fame Game is an Anamika Khanna show too, one that beautifully showcases the designer’s gamut of work that a ramp show quite never does justice to. The protagonist is even called Anamika, but more on that later. We chatted with Anamika at her Outram Street studio over dosas one afternoon to know about the Madhuri experience and everything else that’s keeping the designer bustling with energy…
“Look at her (Madhuri) in Tezaab! There is a scene where she’s in the truck wearing this pink lip gloss, and I was like ‘oh my God!’”
‘It’s a dream for any designer in the country’
They sent me an email asking if I would be interested in doing this show, with Madhuri, and the minute they said Madhuri I said yes (smiles). Because she’s not just an icon, she’s spectacular. And you know it’s always a dream for any designer in the country to dress her. So I said yeah, I’ll do it. And then one thing led to the other, and when the director called me and I started listening to the story, started going back and forth on her character... her name is Anamika... that was an interesting one, that story I think the director will tell you better instead of me saying it… (laughs)….
So, very interestingly, the director, Sri Rao, he had done his research, he knew the clothes, he knew the looks, because he had done extensive research on our body of work. That made it easier because I wasn’t working from ground zero… there was already this space.
And interestingly, Madhuri herself is quite clear… she knows what will work or not work and she’s not a fussy person... she’s also ready to experiment. She was not saying I will not wear this or not wear that. And we were very mindful of her character, of the age that she is in, the character, of the role she’s playing, and all of that together. So I think it was a collaboration that had meaning.
‘It’s a journey that we travelled’
There was Covid so it was also maddening, we worked on it in 2021… so we did it all virtually, I still haven’t met the director... I did not meet Madhuri at all for this project because it was all virtual, but I had dressed her before lots of times (for other occasions, but this was first time for the screen) so this was not that difficult, because I knew her body type and all. And because the character was in line with what we do, I was okay to do it. It was about fashion, because she is wearing clothes that are interestingly about fashion. It is a journey that we travelled… and when you actually see the character… when you are actually sitting and watching the show… it’s surreal...
You know, I can’t watch my own work… like I can’t see my own photos, I can’t watch my own shows, because I just sit and I think about the mistakes... so it’s a punishment for me... (laughs).
‘Madhuri herself was the inspiration behind the clothes’
I do believe that any clothes that we do for films shouldn’t be just about the clothes... it should fit in with the character. Fortunately here, firstly her name is Anamika, so that whole drama about Anamika by Anamika had started, and besides that, the character fitted it. For example, that white shirt and the tribal skirt that she’s wearing when she gets down from the car and starts dancing, you know, the whole feeling of how she’s lifting the skirt, you know the whole sentiment behind it, that’s what makes it so special for us. She wears this chiffon cape when she’s about to go to bed... you know, for a movie star to be always glamourous... it’s a part of life... you even go to bed feeling glamorous.…
Interestingly, when I was listening to the narration, thinking about the character, the looks... I was automatically putting Madhuri in that... I didn’t really need another inspiration for the looks.
‘Her moves, her styles, her characters…’
I am a Madhuri fangirl, totally... look at her in Tezaab! There is a scene where she’s in the truck wearing this pink lip gloss, and I was like ‘oh my God!’... (laughs)... Her moves, her styles, her characters, the whole thing... is something else.
And look at her now… accepting change, moulding, it’s tough for actors to keep up with the times... your body is going through change.… Also, we think that they have thousand people around them to do things so they don’t have any stress... but their stress is of a different level... like their show is going to release... how are they going to be accepted.…
“Rekha is such an icon... She is always in her traditional saris so I have never had an opportunity to dress her. I would love to dress her”
‘I would love to dress Rekha’
Rekha is such an icon... She is always in her traditional saris so I have never had an opportunity to dress her. I would love to dress her.
Anamika Khanna’s menswear is understated and classic on the one hand and experimental on the other, and is a ‘natural extension’ of the designer’s womenswear line
‘I see them experimenting, but I don’t see men in frocks’
Vishesh (her son) had started it (Anamika’s menswear line)... he started studying menswear in great detail and he said we have to get our construction right first. He got into this whole thing that the construction has to be perfect, it’s not all about embroideries... embroideries we already have... now to get that fit, the shape, the style, everything right, that’s something I would give him credit for. And right now, our menswear is quite understated, it’s quite classic on the one side when we do our weddings and all, but also on the other side, it’s very experimental. So we are not scared, and we have never been scared about putting it out there and saying this is also So that’s a personal thing, but touchwood, I think it’s been accepted beautifully, every day it just keeps growing. It’s an addition to and an extension of what we do, it had to come naturally. I did not have the skills of construction of menswear, and that’s why we didn’t do it and now Vishesh has managed to bring that. So menswear is now an integral part of it.
‘AK-OK is a way of life’
AK-OK is also constantly evolving and it’s a very interesting space that we got into and it’s a space that’s constantly evolving... and you know, it’s almost becoming a lifestyle... AK-OK is not about the clothes any more, AK-OK has become a part of many people’s way of life. In the sense that they look at an AK-OK and they identify with it, which is very very interesting for me. And slowly slowly we will keep adding new products to it... giving it dimensions. So that’s why we say everything is AK-OK, so we will do everything.
Not just accessories... we are going to look at lifestyle, home, children’s wear, menswear, everything... it’s not going to be limited... it’s going to be something that will easily become part of life, even though if may be something you had not thought before. So that identification will come.
You know, sometimes you see something that you’ve not seen before and you think yes, this is something I can do, or be or accept. That’s what I want AK-OK to be... that we are giving you something new but it’s not alien to you. As we keep moving, our mindsets are changing, so that’s what AK-OK is attempting to do. That as we move forward, our mindsets change, along with how the world changes, the way we think, every day there is a new story in the head, right? And then I have the power of youth there... so the power of youth is not about clothes for young people, but clothes for that mindset.
‘I feel I am becoming more and more courageous’
It won’t be fair to say that I am most excited about AK-OK (smiles)... I am just as excited about always introducing something new in Anamika Khanna. That whole challenge of keeping Anamika Khanna relevant... I feel we are going more and more intricate, with the textiles, and you know one thing filters into the other, so that spirit of AK-OK, that spirit of freedom, the spirit of experimentation, somehow that spirit I feel is also seeping in... shuru se thaa hi... I was not bound by anything, I was doing my own thing... but for Anamika Khanna I feel I am becoming more and more courageous, that spirit of freedom. I am not scared any more to put it out there... I am willing to take that risk and say that this can also happen. So while I am doing very traditional embroideries and I love it, I just feel that I am becoming bolder. I guess experience also, as you go along things do develop...
I also feel that I am being able to find a new energy... like I said one exudes from the other... you do something new and that whole newness filters into everything.
how it can be done. But having said that, I do have this vision of being slightly more understated and classic with menswear. Like I see them experimenting, but I don’t see men in frocks, if I may use the word (smiles)!
Every day one new story I have… today I want to experiment with this... today I want to do that... today there’s a new silhouette, tomorrow there’s a new embroidery, a new idea, or something or the other. And what is really interesting for us is our client is accepting it... they are not rejecting the thought, they are happy to go along. I suppose we have been able to build a sort of trust... that is making a lot of difference... when you have that trust already you feel braver and bolder. Like the last show that we did, the couture show, it was a traditional show... but you know, to introduce that whole pearl veil on the head... so that was a new idea, you are putting out a new idea and when people react to it that gives you more courage. To do more. And that’s also happening... people are pushing you to do the next thing.…
Anamika Khanna’s edgy-cool ready-to-wear line AK-OK ‘has become a part of many people’s way of life’, feels the designer
‘It’s like this new thing every day and you are just adapting’
So this fashion week (FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week) we are going to give it a miss, but (India) Couture Week we will do. So we are building our thoughts around that, pushing ourselves to the extreme... will see how far I can go for this one.
Also at this moment we are all very busy consolidating. Also it is a fact that there’s a lot of change happening constantly. So when Covid happened it was one story, then when it opened up, how the market reacted, how you needed to bring change into the way you priced your products or customised them.… And then again you went through a phase when the whole country was speaking (about fashion) and shopping... there were like weddings and other occasions, again Covid struck... so you know, everyone is going through the cycle of change, even your craftsmen, so it’s like this new thing every day and you are just adapting and adapting, so it’s not constant.
Shraddha Kapoor was the showstopper at an AK-OK showcase at FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week in 2021
‘I felt that I have to leave behind this legacy of honesty and trust’
You know, especially the time that we spent in the lockdown, and the two years when we were adapting, I think my work has changed, my thought process has changed, the way I conduct my business had changed, all in a very positive way for myself, because I feel we have had so much time to reflect, we have had so much time to separate the wheat from the chaff, and the very fact that you realise what was important and what was not, even in your work you know there was this very big learning that people were investing in quality, they were all saying there is no point in collecting any more, but that one thing that you have that you will be able to repeat in various ways, that will add meaning.… That whole thing of storytelling became important, why someone was buying something, that became very relevant.
I also feel that the very fact that we have been able to adapt, we had to change, we had to adjust.… You know, I felt that I have to leave behind this legacy of honesty and trust, that even if I am gone, that legacy will be so strong that if an Anamika Khanna you pick up you have faith in that product. I started thinking about all these things (during the pandemic). Before that we were just running, we had no time for anything, we were just running from one day to the other, from one show to the other. Where was the opportunity... so this (pandemic) gave us that opportunity.
Plus this also gave us that opportunity to calm down, to settle down, to not be these mad people that we always were.
‘I have slowed down in my mind’
I have slowed down in my mind, from the hecticness, and that has happened only because I have been able to differentiate between what is important and what’s not. And I have learnt to say no to things... it gives me more time to do better work. So I have not slowed down in the work, we are going on increasing every day... I have just slowed down from my madness and in my method of working. It’s a lot more about acceptance and that is making a huge difference in everything that I do.
When I am working also, I am enjoying creating something, I am enjoying the process. Earlier when someone delayed something I would be so stressed, today I am like it’s okay. So that change automatically filters in your organisation. I have decided in my company, everyone should be happy... they should be enjoying the work, they should be looking forward to it and not stressed out. Thankfully we are reaching there... eventually as a designer, whatever you do reflects how you feel.
Collection pictures: Sandip Das and courtesy of Anamika Khanna